>> a new alleged whistle-blower in the united states. a high military officer is said to have leaked top military information. >> you are watching al jazeera live from doha. outident obama rules fighting for whistle-blower edward snowden. three days of fighting in the libyan capital.

carrying a fashion executive is found in venezuelan waters. we are learning this hour that a new alleged whistle-blower is said to be under investigation in the united states. according to reports, a former high-ranking u.s. general is being investigated for leaking and permission about a sniper attack on iran's nuclear program. the attack in 2010 used a computer virus stuxnet to disable 1000 centrifuges the enrichs were using to uranium. what more are you hearing and reading about this investigation? >> we are talking about the nbc news report and nbc news's are broadcasting partner, about the retired marine corps general james cartwright who used to be the no. 2 person on the joint

chiefs of staff from 2007 until 2011, basically the no. 2 in the u.s. military. he was instrumental in the development of the program known as stuxnet, which was designed to interrupt the operation of more than 1000 iranian intrifuges at every actor 2010, i believe. it was a serious problem, not just because it interrupted the iranians ability to do what they said was their nuclear research but it also started spreading around the world. this was a very dangerous virus which many had suspected the americans had already developed, but the idea that this report suddenly found itself being publicized on the front page of the new york times in 2012 certainly raised a lot of

eyebrows. president barack obama said at the time that it was a very serious compromise of national security information and that he promised that whoever was responsible would be found. nbc news is reporting that the justice department has notified general cartwright, who has since retired from the military, that he is the target of an investigation. his lawyer, who used to be the white house counsel, is not talking to reporters tonight. >> of that is the background. what exactly led u.s. authorities to suspect general car right? is there any evidence or anything to suggest that it was him who was behind the leak echo >> they are not saying what definitely lead to him, but the embassy news report suggests, and it is perhaps an interesting insight detail, they did not look at any information or ask for any information from

the new york times. there has been a lot of concern in this country about the justice department going after journalists in order to try to conduct criminal investigations, and sometimes even possibly trying to implicate or hold workters accountable for that is protected by the u.s. constitution. calls, the notes, phone e-mails, none of the information that was used to put that story together was actually requested by the justice department. we have to assume until more details come out that they had to take a look at what was being done within the structure of the u.s. military. theyon't know where else were looking are who else might have given the justice department the tip. that is a serious security breach and it is quite shocking,

frankly, that someone who was so highly placed in the u.s. military, the number two advisor from the military to the president, first president bush, then president obama, would do something of this nature. >> just to clarify, general car right actually ran the actual program, right? >> bright, he was known as the specialist in cybersecurity matters and cyber warfare, very instrumental in the development of this. there is already speculation, was a matter of ego, one into gather some sort of public recognition, even though he was not going around saying anything to the public, or was there something else at play. we just don't know. we have to stress that general cartwright is under investigation, the white house is not talking about this report, as is his lawyer, the former white house counsel,

simply not giving any comment at this hour. it is simply a stunning development when you consider that the obama administration has always said people who leaked are going to be prosecuted if we can figure out who they are. on anotherst now alleged was a borrower, edward snowden's decision to unveil alleged surveillance programs. within the last few hours, at horse president has accused the u.s. of trying to blackmail his country into handing over the 29-year-old cia worker. the president said he is not going to give in to economic pressure from washington. asylum is anr deny inherent right of a sovereign nation. it is unacceptable to try to demonize a state for trying to

-- for considering an asylum request. don't waste your time. to tradeot submit interest, no matter how important they are. this report from the ecuadorean capital. >> on thursday, the government here announced they were renouncing unilateral agreement that exists between the united states and ecuador. they are saying the united states is using this type of andeannt to coerce nations. the government said on thursday that they did not need it and they were not going to be forced into any type of decision regarding edwards noted's political asylum. -- with edward snowden. they had contact with him only once and that happened last

tuesday in russia and the contact was made between the ecuadorean ambassador in russia and edward snowden. no other contact had been made. they said that his political asylum had not been processed because it had not been made to ecuadorean soil. now it is going to take longer. the ecuadorian government is obviously taking its time to decide whether to grant snowden political asylum or not. >> it has brought into the limelight the government snooping of personal data. this report on what happened to the issue of domestic spying. >> the case of edward stoughton followed obama on thursday. he was asked how far he would go to bring the accused intelligence leader to justice. >> i will not be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.

>> obama said he would not damage relations with hong kong, china, or russia just to get snowden. he said there is a bigger issue to tackle, whether the u.s. should be collecting information on every u.s. person's phone and e-mail communication, a program snowden recently leaked to several newspapers. >> i am focused on making sure that we have a healthy, effective debate in the united oures about how we balance security and our privacy concerns, because these programs, which i believe make america safe, helped make america safe, and i believe draw rightpropriate balance, now are generating a lot of questions in the press and in the american public. >> that debate may be getting hotter. on thursday, the guardian newspaper reported that the

national security agency had been tracking internet communications since the september 11 attacks. at first, the nsa only collected e-mail data generated either by non-u.s. citizens or by people physically outside the country. but in 2007, that data collection was expanded to cover all people inside the u.s., even though the nsa is not supposed to spying on americans. the program did not end until sometime in 2011, more than two years after barack obama became president. meantime, the u.s. top military officer said he is concerned about the security of the nsa itself. >> you cannot stop someone from breaking the law 100% of the time. you just cannot stop that from happening. you can certainly increased scrutiny in terms of their background investigation and reduce the number of them and put different degrees of oversight in place.

thehile grappling with limits of protecting the american sense of privacy. governmenth african says nelson mandela's condition is now stable, but he remains critically ill. of well-wishers have been praying, singing, and dancing outside his pretoria hospital where he is being treated for lung infection. family members have been giving updates on his condition. >> it does not look good, i am not going to like. that for us, as his children and grandchildren, we still have hope, because when we talk to him, he looks like he is trying to open his eyes. there is an element with many of

the foreign media were they just across boundaries. that are standing right there in the aisle. you cannot even enter the hospital or go out of the hospital because they are making themselves such a nuisance. >> more on what has been happening outside the hospital in pretoria. >> all day today, people have been streaming here, hundreds of thousands of people packing the street. the numbers have thinned out at the moment but we still have groups of people coming in here spontaneously, grasping onto the news that nelson mandela appears to have improved a little bit. let's listen. ♪ >> people here really feel a close family connection to

nelson mandela. there really is a connection. people have been ringing up notices and well wishes. you come? why did you come down here today? i just came down to pay my own tribute to mr. mandela. i am so happy that i can come down all the way from nigeria to say we love you. african, notan just a south african. living by forgiveness

completely. making peace across the whole nation of africa. i really believe the man is an african, not a south african. >> we have been hearing update from the president's office throughout the last few days and weeks. the latest we have heard is that he is still in critical condition, although as i said earlier, we have been getting indications that maybe he is improving a little bit. that is certain what everyone here is grasping onto. >> a reminder of our top stories. a new alleged whistle-blower is said to be under investigation in the united states. according to news reports, a former high-ranking u.s. general is being investigated for leaking information about cyber attacks on iran's nuclear program. a course president has accused the u.s. of trying to blackmail his country to hand over edward snowden. obama has defended the right of

the -- he has defended the right of the former u.s. leader to apply for political asylum. nelsonf improvement in mandela's condition, but he remains critically ill in a pretoria hospital with thousands of well-wishers praying for his recovery. >> at least 10 people have been killed in the fighting in tripoli. casualty oftest libya's deteriorating security situation. the defense minister has left his post. he had struggled to control the many odd militias running the country with little success. the final straw came in the last three days in tripoli. gunfire broke out between rival brigades, most connected to the ministry of defense or the interior. it was described as a suicidal

scene and said the government will get to the bottom of it. >> we have formed a fact-finding committee and this committee will start imminently. the general attorney has already started an investigation. >> armed groups made up of former rebel fighters have grown in power and ambition since the fall of gaddafi. the government has struggled to impose authority over them. civilians often get caught in the middle. >> we want to live in peace, nothing else. let us work and raise our children. if there is a future for this country, let us get there without guns. >> earlier this year, militias over rent the ministries of justice and interior. himwhole episode left disillusioned and he submitted his resignation then, though he was persuaded to stay on.

he is quoted as saying however be about to accept that politics practiced by the power of weapons. two years after the fall of gaddafi, libya is awash with guns, bullets, and rival militias. the next defense minister has a tough task ahead. >> in brazil, fighting has erupted between police and protesters yet again. right protesters -- right police have fired tear gas at protesters. thousands of demonstrators are voicing outrage at spending on sporting events when the fighting began. reports say least 20 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in baghdad. a government spokesman said the blasts targeted football fans and cafes. at least four people have been reportedly killed in an explosion in a christian district of syria's capital. it happened in the old city of

damascus. several others are thought to have been injured. syrian state television said the blast was a suicide bombing, but opposition forces called it a mortar attack. meanwhile the un has extended peacekeeping mandate in the occupied golan heights between israel and syria for another six months. the number of un troops fell by a third two weeks ago when austria went to eight west contingent. more from un headquarters in new york. >> un troops in the golan heights are facing an increasingly dangerous situation at the conflict in syria continues to spill over that country's borders. the mandate for the un troops is to control the area of separation between syria and israel and monitor the cease- fire that has been in place between the two countries for nearly 40 years. but the troops have increasingly been shot at and some of them have been kidnapped.

in recent weeks, several countries have pulled their forces out of the mission. nevertheless, the security council did manage to extend the mission for another six months and a strengthened the language of the resolution the self- defense capabilities of the force there, in hopes of making the troops safer and also encouraging more countries to come forward and donate their forces for this important mission on the border between syria and israel. among the things they are going to do is provide body armor and armored cars as well as more heavy weapons, things that they currently do not have. they have cut back on some of the patrols in order to keep them safe. all this because they think it is so important to keep an international force on this very volatile border in an area that is increasingly destabilized because of the conflict in syria. >> the u.s. court has towards

the alleged boston marathon bomber with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill four people. he faces 30 charges over the bombs that went off near the finish line of the race. >> the attack from the boston marathon shocked all of america as the world famous event drew to a close. explosions ripped through the crowd in the center of the city. three died, more than 260 were injured. police issued pictures of the man they wanted to interview, 19-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother tamerlan. >> i have met with several of those. hear theirto thought, discussed the process moving forward, and learn a bit about them personally. their strength is extraordinary and will -- we will do everything we can to pursue

justice not only on their behalf but on behalf of all of us. >> what followed was a massive manhunt. the police closed in and there was a shootout. at the end, one police officer was killed and tamerlan tsarnaev lay dying. boston was essentially shut down as police continued to search for dzhokhar tsarnaev. he was found hiding in a boat where he left several messages such as i cannot stand to see such evil go unpunished. you heard one, you hurt us all. there isn't explanation in some ways to affect what u.s. foreign policy may be and also as a measure of perhaps a protest against what it viewed or what they viewed or perceived

as actions by the united states. >> the brothers had lived in the u.s. for more than a decade. the indictment says the internet played a part in the development of what was described as a radical views. at the same time as the federal charges were delivered, massachusetts authorities worked on an indictment against dzhokhar tsarnaev. if convicted, he faces life in prison or he could face the death penalty. >> police in chile have arrested more than 100 people after a secondary school was taken over by students. the occupation was part of a campaign by protesters calling for education. the aircraft carrying a fashion executive has been found.

160as discovered about kilometers north of the venezuelan capital of caracas. >> for the past six months, the search team have combed these waters. they have been trying to recover the wreckage of a plane carrying the boss of an italian fashion label. that search is finally over. >> this is part of a joint cooperation effort. the italian government made available the latest technology for the plane. perhaps we will discover the remains of the people on board. >> the plane was down 70 meters underwater. thead taken off carrying designer, his wife, and four others on january 4. it was the beginning of a bittersweet year for the fashion house. the patriarch died last month 60

years after he and his wife established the brand. although new collections have been shown to mark the anniversary, the family is morning a father and son. but the funeral of american actor james gandolfini has taken place at a manhattan cathedral in new york. died of a heart attack last week while on holiday in italy. a u.s. businessman who was held captive by his chinese employees over a pay dispute has been freed. with dozenseached of workers at a medical supply factory. they were about to lose their jobs and wanted severance payments.

suspended. has bangladesh from a program that provides tax breaks to developing countries. the move is in part a response -- it is a result of a series of deadly fires that other factors that make clothing down for the u.s.. it is being considered a warning to factory owners to improve safety conditions for garment workers. max a taliban attack in northern pakistan that killed eight mountaineers and their guide has affected tourism. hotel owners say rooms are normally booked solid this time of year but are empty. the government has asked remaining foreign visitors to leave for their own safety. but for centuries, these mountains have captured the imagination of of adventure seekers and travelers and today everything around them is designed to cater to the hundreds of mountain years to

come here every year wanting the thrill of conquering the peaks. , buthotel should be packed that is not so, as all foreigners have been asked by the governor to go back to the capital. theriday night, four of eight who were murdered checked into the panorama hotel. the manager remembers they were in high spirits and about to climb one of the most difficult peaks in the world. >> there were such lovely people and so excited. it gave me such hope to see them. >> foreign tourists are vital to this economy. on average, 50 mountaineers will come up every week during the summer months, each been the least $100 during the trip. the amounts quickly add up. now, nothing.

with no customers, their owners are worried about the future. >> this was my livelihood. them, i make nothing. but she can just see the himalayan mountain ranges their through the clouds. on where i stand, it is a very hard to-day trip up into those mountains. impossible to secure. the pakistani taliban have threaten more violence and no one here in a portage wants to see any more bloodshed. propaganda victory for the pakistani taliban. now that are associated with terror.